Is There an Entrance Exam for CA? CA Foundation and Direct Entry Explained

No, CA has no separate entrance test. The first exam on the route is CA Foundation, and nobody screens you before it: you register with ICAI after Class 10 and can sit the exam once you have appeared in Class 12. Graduates who meet ICAI's marks rule skip Foundation and register straight for CA Intermediate.

So "CA entrance exam" almost always means CA Foundation. It replaced the old CPT, the Common Proficiency Test, and ICAI's January 2027 guidance notes still accept candidates who have converted from CPT to Foundation.

Which route into CA applies to you?

ICAI's FAQs on the current scheme set out who starts where:

• Passed Class 10: register for Foundation now. Your first attempt comes after you appear in Class 12.
• Appeared in or passed Class 12: Foundation, registered at least four months before the exam month.
• Commerce graduate or postgraduate with 55% or more: Direct Entry to Intermediate, no Foundation.
• Graduate or postgraduate in any other subject with 60% or more: Direct Entry to Intermediate.
• Passed the Intermediate level of ICSI (CS) or the Institute of Cost Accountants (CMA): Direct Entry to Intermediate.
• In the final year of a degree: provisional Direct Entry registration, confirmed when you submit the marksheet with the required marks within six months of the final-year exam.

Source: ICAI FAQs on the Current Scheme of Education and Training (updated 29 July 2026) and ICAI Foundation January 2027 guidance notes.

Graduates with lower marks are not shut out. They can join through Foundation like a Class 12 student. Our guide to CA after graduation covers the Direct Entry rules in full.

If you register today, when is your first CA exam?

ICAI counts back from the first day of the exam month: four months for Foundation, eight months for Intermediate. Counted from 6 November 2026, that gives:

• Foundation January 2027: closed to new students. The registration cut-off was 1 September 2026.
• Foundation May 2027: register by 1 January 2027, which is 56 days away.
• Foundation September 2027: register by 1 May 2027.
• Intermediate through Direct Entry: register by 1 January 2027 to write in September 2027, or by 1 May 2027 for January 2028.

Source: ICAI FAQs on registration cut-offs (Foundation and Intermediate), Gradehunt analysis of dates counted from 6 November 2026.

Here is what that means in practice. A student writing Class 12 boards in early 2027 who registers by 1 January can take Foundation in May 2027, straight after the boards. Pass it, and the eight-month rule points to May 2028 as the first Intermediate attempt, if the May 2027 result is out before 1 September 2027. A graduate who registers by the same 1 January date can write Intermediate in September 2027, two sittings sooner.

Is the January 2027 CA Foundation exam form open?

Yes, for students who registered by 1 September 2026. ICAI's important dates notice puts the online form window at 3 to 16 November 2026, with a late fee up to 19 November and a correction window from 20 to 22 November. If you applied provisionally, without your Class 12 admit card or marksheet on the self-service portal, upload it there by 1 December 2026, or ICAI will not issue your Foundation admit card.

The papers are on 3, 5, 7 and 9 January 2027 from 2 pm. Paper timings, reading time and reporting rules are in our CA Foundation January 2027 exam dates post.

CA entrance exam syllabus: papers and passing marks

Foundation has four papers of 100 marks each, 400 in all. Accounting and Business Laws are written answers, 3 hours each. Quantitative Aptitude (business maths, logical reasoning and statistics) and Business Economics are 2-hour multiple-choice papers, and each wrong answer costs 0.25 marks.

To pass you need at least 40 in every paper and at least 200 of the 400 marks, in one sitting. Two rules catch people out:

• No paper exemption. The guidance notes say Foundation has no concept of exemption, so a single weak paper means writing all four again.
• A strong total cannot rescue one paper. 260 out of 400 is still a fail if Business Laws shows 38.

For which chapters carry the most marks, see our CA Foundation chapter-wise weightage.

How much does it cost to start CA?

• Foundation registration: ₹9,000, paid at registration. ICAI's FAQ says this includes the CA prospectus, the Foundation study material and the Student Journal for one year.
• Exam fee: ₹1,500 per sitting at an Indian centre, ₹2,200 for Kathmandu and US$325 for Dubai or Bahrain.
• So at today's fees a first attempt from an Indian centre costs ₹10,500, and each extra sitting ₹1,500.
• Direct Entry instead: Intermediate registration is ₹18,000 for both groups.

Foundation registration stays valid for four years from your first eligible attempt and cannot be revalidated. Our post on the CA attempt limit explains what happens after that.

How to register for CA Foundation

• Go to ICAI's self-service portal at eservices.icai.org and create your login.
• Choose Register Course, pick Foundation and fill in your details. Upload your photograph and signature here too, since they are printed on your admit card.
• Upload the documents the portal asks for. For the exam you will need your Class 12 marksheet or, if the boards are still ahead, your Class 12 admit card.
• Pay the ₹9,000 fee online and keep the confirmation.
• Later, fill the separate exam form for your chosen sitting. ICAI says it usually opens about two months before each exam.

Registered and planning for May 2027? Gradehunt's CA Foundation test series has ICAI-pattern papers for all four subjects. You write at home, upload the sheets, and all four papers are checked within 48 hours of upload, including your MCQ answer sheets for Papers 3 and 4. Your first paper is checked free.